Seminary questions

The selection of Jesuit Father George Schultze as the new president /rector of St. Patrick’s Seminary & University is a good choice (“Jesuit Father George Schultze to lead seminary at ‘major turning point,’” Feb. 23, 2017, Page 1). He is a longtime faculty member and provides continuity for the transition from Sulpician leadership (“Sulpician order to depart St. Patrick’s Seminary after 118 years,” Nov. 3, 2016, Page 1).

This situation leads to some questions:

1) With such a low number of students (about 63, down from 114 a couple of years ago), is the seminary viable academically and financially?

2) What is the vision and the plan of the Archdiocese of San Francisco for the future of the seminary?

We are very concerned about the future of the seminary. We who will be pastored by priests need answers.

Editor’s note: The referenced Nov. 3, 2016, article reported the following: “The seminary has seen a significant drop in enrollment from 2012 at 114 seminarians to 63 today, but Bishop Daly [Spokane Bishop Thomas Daly, a trustee and graduate of St. Patrick’s] said that is not a reflection of seminary administration rather a function of decisions by some dioceses to send seminarians to other seminaries as well as an overall drop in seminarians.